


Nothing I Need

by Well_Then_Extract



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, M/M, Mutual Pining, Pre-Slash, Roommates, Sickfic, and they were roommates!, by law i am required to reference that vine, oh my god they were roommates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-20
Updated: 2020-02-20
Packaged: 2021-02-28 04:01:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,112
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22807507
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Well_Then_Extract/pseuds/Well_Then_Extract
Summary: Will tries and fails to not be too gay when Troy gets sick.Based on WolfTailedGirl's lovely college AU because I adore it so much.
Relationships: Will Byers/Troy Walsh
Comments: 1
Kudos: 21





	Nothing I Need

**Author's Note:**

  * For [WolfTailedGirl](https://archiveofourown.org/users/WolfTailedGirl/gifts).



> I started writing this about a month ago when I got sick and needed comfort, but then it turned into that fic for their AU that I'm always promising WolfTailedGirl so...  
> I love their college roommates AU so much and I could just write endless scenarios for it if I had the time and motivation. Besides, I love them immensely and I always want to do things for them but never know what to do.  
> Also I love me some pining Will and I don't write it nearly as much as I'd like to, so this fic is just as much for me as it is for them.  
> Alright, I'll stop rambling now and I'll go let you read!  
> The title is a Poppy song and it's a bop and I love her more than anything so pls listen to it thx u,,

Being roommates with Troy wasn’t actually that hard, when it came down to it.

Will thought it’d be difficult, and he had to admit he was a little apprehensive when he walked into this college dorm room and saw Troy in there, but so far it had just been two adults in college sharing a room.

There hadn’t been any big fights or nasty drama, just the two of them expertly and productively going on with their lives like they were trained to do. Maybe it was that they didn’t have time for the drama, maybe they grew out of it. They had other lives outside of each other, anyway, Troy had those two girls he was always around and Will had Jane and his classes. They both had jobs, they both had schoolwork.

Even if they _had_ time to pester each other, Will was pretty sure they wouldn’t. Things just weren’t like that anymore.

Either way, living with Troy had mostly been ordering food in, making enough coffee for two people, watching movies together when they could, Will studying at the coffee shop when he knew Troy had a big exam tomorrow and needed to focus.

It had been easy, simple.

They even had a class together, so Will could wake up and get Troy up in time too, and Troy could make sure they both got to class on time if Will’s alarm didn’t go off. It got to the point where Troy unplugged his alarm clock on the days they had their class together, he knew Will would wake him up in time.

They both had jobs, they worked at different times and had different schedules, so it wasn’t uncommon for them to barely see each other some days, but they had still worked out a steady and incredibly efficient rhythm to their lives.

After getting over the shock of running into each other again, things were running smoothly.

Fall came and went, humble and bland, October was warm and breezy, and the first snow was at the end of November. It had been a dry season, and the usual first coming of the flu had passed the university by.

December was modestly snowy, a few dustings here and there only once did it get bad enough to earn a delay.

Both Will and Troy (and El) went home for Christmas, and Troy pointedly avoided Will the whole time once they were back in Hawkins. Not that Will went looking for him, but still, he expected to run into him at least once. He even went through the trouble of taking separate transportation to and back from Hawkins.

But they were both back at their dorms by the start of the new year, and their easy routine was back. Will let the unsettled feeling of Troy avoiding him for two weeks roll off him and melt away like snow in the springtime.

Now it was January, and the winter had already gotten more bitter while they were away.

Flu season had also come back with a vengeance, and mononucleosis was wreaking havoc across the campus too. The combination of the biting cold with the petri dish that was the school lead to a perfect storm of illnesses spreading quickly throughout the student body.

Really, Will should have expected Troy to get sick since he doesn’t wear coats when he should and takes his sneakers out in the snow and goes to sleep with wet hair, and that’s disregarding the other issues, but it still caught Will off guard.

Troy had been sneezing and sniffling a day before he actually got sick, and when Will questioned him Troy brushed him off. Will knew, though.

“You’re getting sick,” he had said definitively, pointing at Troy.

They were walking back to their dorm from class, but Troy had convinced Will to detour for some coffee. He had heard Troy sniffling the whole time, amplified by the fact that they sat right next to each other. This morning, too, Troy kept sneezing and breathing with difficulty through his nose.

“No, I’m not!” Troy lied, pushing Will’s hand away.

“Yes, you are! You’re all sniffly, and you said your throat is bothering you.”

"I didn’t say it’s _bothering_ me, I said it’s itchy.”

Will frowned at Troy, pointing again.

“Still, those are signs of getting sick,” he continued, and Troy just rolled his eyes, “you could stop it if you catch it early-”

“With what? Orange juice? Tang? A baby aspirin?”

Will stumbled, that’s what he was going to say.

“Well, that always worked with El and-”

“Will,” Troy interrupted again, pausing on the sidewalk and looking Will in the eye earnestly, “I’ll be okay. Really. You don’t have to worry.”

Will huffed, but let Troy pick up his hands and squeeze them. Troy's hands were warm, and that melted away some of the edge Will had from this conversation.

“I’m a grown-ass adult, I don’t need a babysitter,” Troy expressed, and although his tone was gentle and honest the actual words he was saying had a less nice feeling.

Will dropped the subject, though, (Troy only got more quippy and annoyed if you continued the subject he wanted to drop) and they went back to their usual heckling as they got coffee and walked back to their dorm.

(Will narrowly avoided suggesting tea rather than coffee for Troy.)

Will complained about wanting a cat once they got back, Troy started talking about rodents, Will forgot about the conversation completely by the time his shoes were off.

Troy went off to work after a quick shower, and Will got some studying done. He put on music and went through his notes, as well as doing an assigned reading that he was supposed to have done for the previous class period.

Then before Troy got back, Will’s shift started and he left too, knowing the plan of grabbing something on the way home for him and Troy to eat. He knew Troy would wait to eat, that he’d be sitting on his bed reading when Will got back.

They’d eat the food Will brought on their beds, facing each other, Will would mock Troy for something, they’d talk about their day at work. That’s how it went, Will was comfortable with that.

And, if Will was honest, he liked hearing Troy talk about his day. He liked hearing Troy talk in general. Will didn’t know what it was, he just liked listening to Troy.

(Maybe he liked his voice.)

As Will went to grab some tacos from a chain Mexican restaurant (Mexican in the way that a lake is an ocean), he looked across the parking lot at the grocery store and thought he had better go in and grab some cold medicine just in case.

So that’s what he did, he bought aspirin and daytime and nighttime flu, as well as tea and honey and orange juice (and Tang). All the flu essentials. Will felt like it was worth it to buy these things, even if Troy might be right and he might not even be sick at all. Maybe they’ll both go through this season without catching anything, but it’s always better to be prepared.

(Besides, with Troy’s friends and El and her friends, Will and Troy usually had people hanging around their dorm anyway, and if any of them got sick they could handle it properly now.)

So Will had a whole argument planned in support of getting the flu supplies.

When Will got back, a bag of cheap tacos in one hand and a bag of flu remedies in the other, the neighboring dorm was booming with loud music.

_A weird decision for a Tuesday,_ he thought, but it definitely wasn’t unheard of, so he ignored it and went into his own dorm.

Troy was laying on the bed, pillow covering his face, his own music playing just barely loud enough to hear.

“Taco time!” Will chirped as he walked in, kicking off his shoes and taking off his coat, hat, and scarf.

(Unlike Troy, he was always reasonably prepared for cold weather.)

“Oh my God I’m gonna kill Andrew,” Troy grumbled, lifting the pillow off his head to frown at Will.

“It is kind of a weird day for a party,” Will agreed, walking over to Troy.

His coat was on the bed next to him, crumpled, his shoes were on the floor, disarranged like he was too exhausted to put them back in their normal place. His face was a little paler, too.

“I don’t want to _deal_ with that today.” Troy groaned, throwing his hands up and pulling the pillow back over his face.

“Because you’re sick?” Will teased, leaning forward and tugging the pillow away so he could look Troy in the eyes.

“Not because I’m sick! Because I’m tired because I had to deal with stupid people all day and I don’t want to deal with them now!” He shouted, glaring at the wall as if his gaze could penetrate through it and hit the people on the other side.

Will sat down on his bed, getting comfy, and handed Troy a taco. He was ready for the day’s summary, ready for Troy to tell Will about all the unhappy goings-on at the gardening store. Instead, Troy picked at his taco, spaced out and unfocused. He ate it slowly, wincing when a particularly loud noise came from the room next door.

Will watched him, pity and what might have been genuine concern rising in him.

“You feeling sick?” he asked, voice soft, he really meant that nicely. He sounded a lot like his mom, he thought.

(Also, albeit less prominent than his desire for Troy to be at his usual capacity, Will wanted Troy to admit that Will was right and he was sick. Nothing ever felt better than Troy admitting Will was right about something.)

Troy shook his head, and took a defiant bite of his food, straightening his back like he had woken up or been reminded of something. He didn’t sit up though and kept the pillow hugged to his chest.

“I’m not sick,” he protested through a mouth full of food.

Will looked at him fondly, heart softening with barely developed affection.

“You should go to sleep early,” he offered, reaching out to lightly touch Troy’s arm (that’s how close the beds were).

Troy shook his head again, moving his arm away from Will’s touch.

"I’m _fine_ , I already told you that,” Troy argued, not quite mad yet but getting to the point of being annoyed.

Will lifted his hands up in surrender, backing off. If he handled this right, and if Troy was really sick, then he’d probably fall asleep early anyway.

“Alright, fine, if you say so,” he shrugs and grabs another taco from the bag.

“I _do_ say so,” Troy repeated, still sounding a little upset, but it was steadily fading away now, “give me another taco,”

Will handed him one, watching him unwrap it with clumsy fingers.

“Anyway,” Will began, ready to ditch the subject again, he liked pushing Troy but only to a point, “tell me about your day,”

Troy rolled his eyes, in the ‘let me tell you’ way, and took a deep inhale like telling this story would take all the energy he had.

“Okay, so this lady comes up to Carol, right? And she starts talking about the flowers she got and how the weather has been impacting them and all, and I’m at the register next to them, right? So she keeps going, and she noticed me at some point, and she turned to me and you won’t _believe_ what she said to me…” Troy went on like that, enthusiastically telling the story, watching Will and his reactions.

Will had gotten under his blankets and was sitting up, still working on a taco. He could feel the day’s stress wash off of him like dirt under hot water, he could feel Troy’s voice soothe any worries or anxieties or issues that Will was thinking of.

He just sat there, listening to Troy, adding comments or affirmation that he was listening every now and then, but mostly he just watched Troy talk and let his voice calm him down like sounds of the ocean.

_Maybe he’s not sick,_ Will thought as he followed Troy’s story affectionately, a pleasant and subtle flush working its way onto his cheeks, _maybe it is just allergies or an off day._

Troy fell asleep before Will, who stayed up a little while longer to get some homework done, and Will caught himself glancing over at Troy’s peaceful sleeping form a few times. He chastised himself for doubting Troy and thought about what they’d do that weekend as he fell asleep.

Then, the next day, the sickness hit Troy like a freight train just like Will predicted it would.

(And Will pretended he didn’t have that moment of doubt as Troy fell asleep when he thought Troy wasn’t really sick.)

When Will woke up for work, Troy was still asleep, like usual. Will didn’t bug him, he thought maybe letting him sleep was best. So Will went off to work, putting the matter out of his mind for a while. He fell into the usual numbed mindset of his job, just going about the day without much thought, like always.

But when Will got back to the dorm, it hit him immediately how sick Troy was.

When he walked in, he saw Troy doing two things he had never seen him do before: drinking tea, and wearing the same clothes he was wearing the day before.

Troy was staring passively at the tv, but he didn’t seem to be retaining anything. He looked over at Will when he walked in, angry in the tired way that he didn’t have the energy to be really mad.

“So I guess you really are sick, then?” Will teased gently, tilting his head affectionately.

Troy just sighed, there was a wheeze to it.

“Yeah,” he huffed, slumping his shoulders, “it caught me.”

Will took off his coat and things, walking over to Troy carefully.

“I’ve never seen you drink tea before,” Will commented, choosing to mention that rather than the fact that Troy hadn’t changed clothes since yesterday.

Troy took a break to hack into the crook of his arm, chest heaving with the effort.

“Carol noticed I was sick and bought it for me,” he looked up at Will, pupils wide and eyes tired, “I can’t taste it, my nose is clogged, but I think it’s helping my throat. Maybe.”

Will nodded, opening a cabinet above the sink and pulling out the medicine he had bought.

“Want a little more help?” He asked, rattling the box.

Troy gaped at Will, sitting up straight.

“You bought medicine? Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I thought you knew! You saw the grocery bag!” Will defended.

“I just- I thought you bought groceries or something!”

“What groceries? We have a mini-fridge!”

Troy started coughing again, waving Will off with his free arm as he coughed into the other. When he spoke again, his voice was extra wheezy.

“I don’t know, maybe my brain isn’t functioning properly because I’m sick!”

Will was rummaging around in the cupboards, seeing if they had any food he could pass off as dinner. His search was turning out to be pretty futile as Troy continued.

“But now that I _know_ there’s medicine I’m going to have some,” Troy moved to get up and Will stuck a hand out to stop Troy from getting up.

“Hey! Hey sit back down, I can get it for you,”

Troy tried to protest but Will cut him off again.

“I’m already over here,” Will reasoned, talking loudly over Troy, grabbing the medicine from a cupboard, “I might as well bring it over to you.”

Troy seemed shocked by the gesture, but leaned back against the back of his bed again and let Will continue.

“Thanks,” he said shortly, he sounded hoarse.

Will filled a mug with their college name on it with water, grabbed the box of pills and took them over to Troy.

“Alright, uh, you’re supposed to take two every twelve hours, and these are the sleep ones because it’s kinda late,” Will explained, dropping the two blue pills into Troy’s palm.

Troy blinked at the pills, gaze dull.

“Are you trying to drug me?” Troy joked, but his voice was so rough that it sounded more sad than anything.

Will laughed anyway, sitting next to Troy on his bed.

(That was crossing a new boundary, but Will figured Troy’s illness would distract him from that.)

“I’m not, I’m just trying to help you since you’re too much of a baby to do things for yourself.”

“You offered!” Troy defended, loud enough that his voice cracked.

“I know! I’m just joking,”

Troy took the mug from Will’s hand, glanced at him again, and then took a drink of the water and slipped a pill in, swallowing easily. He repeated the process and then sank back into the bed, but because Will was sitting next to him he really just laid his head on Will’s chest. Will’s breath hitched, but he was able to keep himself under control. His cheeks felt a little hot though, but that couldn’t be helped.

“When are those pills supposed to start working?” Troy asked he sounded tired, he spoke like it took tremendous effort to get the words out.

He shuffled around, and scooted closer to Will, resting securely and purposefully on Will’s chest now.

“Soon,” Will cooed, placing a hand on the back of Troy’s neck.

He felt gooey affection rise up in him like a tide, Will wanted to kiss Troy’s forehead and play with his hair. He restrained himself though and limited his lovey-dovey actions to simply holding Troy gently and staring down admiringly at him. Even when he was sick, Will still found something to admire about Troy.

Will had a soft spot for helping people. That didn’t mean he liked being taken advantage of or used as a therapist, but he enjoyed helping people with their problems and mothering them. If someone had a headache or hurt themselves or was sick, Will liked being the one they came to for advice. If the thought of going to school for that long and having to learn that much didn’t make Will’s head spin, maybe he would have wanted to be a nurse.

Still, Will enjoyed looking after people, and Will could feel that urge nudging him to be overbearing while Troy was sick. Which was probably why he had been running around trying to make Troy feel better and doting on him. Or maybe he was just bored.

Either way, Will was perfectly content to look after Troy while he was sick and stay here with his head on Will’s chest.

“I had such a weird day today, it was weird all around,” Will began quietly, looking down at Troy to gauge his reaction.

If he wanted Will to stop talking and for the room to be quiet, that’s what he’d do.

Troy didn’t respond, his breathing stayed even and his eyes stayed closed, so Will remained quiet. He was thinking that he should have brought a book or something when Troy scared the shit out of Will by talking suddenly.

“What happened?” Troy said out of nowhere, more slurring than anything, the pills must already be working.

Will jumped, flinching back into the headboard and briefly forcing the hand resting on the back of Troy’s head out of place.

“You scared me,” Will huffed, adjusting himself to his earlier comfy position.

Troy smiled, eyes still shut, tired but teasing.

“Why’d you wait five minutes to respond?” Will continued, joking. “I wouldn’t have gotten scared if you had responded in the normal human conversation way.”

Troy laughed, raspy and sleepy, Will could feel his chest move.

“Sorry, I think the pills made me forget how time works,”

Will smiled down at Troy, blushing slightly, not enough for anyone to notice and definitely not enough for Troy to notice. His mind spun out all sorts of impulsive actions for him, he felt a sincere desire to kiss Troy then.

He didn’t, obviously.

“Ok fine,” Will sighed, “I’ll tell you what happened”

“Good, finally, the suspense is killing me.” Troy teased, and Will was a little amazed at how he was able to get across his sarcasm so easily while he seemed to be half asleep still.

Will rolled his eyes, but subtly pulled Troy in a little closer and began his story again anyway.

“Well, first of all, that one girl from my class I told you about- Dolores? She’s batshit. I raised my hand and answered a question she wanted to answer and when she glared at me I legitimately thought I was going to die,” Will prattled, getting a little distracted from Troy’s warm weight on his chest when he remembered that moment.

Troy snorted, grinning tiredly.

“That was stupid of you though, though, you should have let her answer it,”

“Maybe,” Will admitted, “but she’s always kind of terrible and I’m sick of dealing with her.”

Troy didn’t reply beyond a half-hearted nod, he seemed to be ninety percent asleep now.

_Those pills work fast._

Will flicked Troy in the back of the head weakly, just testing to see if he was still awake.

Troy wrinkled his nose but didn’t react other than that.

Will felt his face get soft and his head get mushy.

“The box said you _will_ feel drowsy, and will was in bold,” Will said tamely, hardly above a whisper, pausing his story, “are you feeling drowsy?”

Troy just hummed again, his eyes were closed. Will took that as a yes.

“Alright,” Will whispered, more to himself than anything, leaning back against the headboard.

He let the room fall into a steady silence, he hoped Troy would fall asleep and he’d be able to slip out from underneath him, as much as he enjoyed the feeling of Troy laying on his chest, he had other things to do.

(Although, honestly, if Will couldn’t get out from under Troy then he wouldn’t really complain.)

“Keep talking,” Troy murmured suddenly breaking the silence, “I like the sound of your voice,”

“What was that?” Will asked, leaning forward. He had heard Troy, he just wanted to hear him say it again.

“I like the sound of your voice!” Troy repeated, much louder than was necessary.

Will grinned, his heart fluttered happily in his chest.

“Fine, I’ll keep talking. But only if it helps you go to sleep, okay?”

Troy hummed again, nodding sleepily. He seemed to have used up all his energy before with his sudden outburst.

Will paused for a minute, thinking of something to say.

“Uh, okay. So you remember my coworker right? Rachel? Weird middle-aged women? Well, we were on check-out, and some little girl came in and bought a package of cookies, and she just… stared at her. Like, she didn’t say anything or do anything for a while. It was so weird. I had to go over and ask her what she was doing,” Will rambled, moving the hand that wasn’t resting on Troy’s neck around as he spoke.

Troy nodded off pretty fast after that, and as Troy fell deeper into sleep Will felt more comfortable getting more affectionate. He started softly running his fingers through his hair, he pulled Troy a little closer, he stared at Troy fondly and allowed his mind to wander.

_What does it matter?_ he convinced himself, _He’s asleep anyway._

He reeled himself back in when he thought of kissing Troy’s cheek since that seemed far too intimate for the time and Troy might only be pretending to be asleep.

Sure, maybe he had feelings for Troy, but they were the manageable kind.

The kind he thought about sometimes and then neatly tucked away. Nothing Will couldn’t handle. It made sense that Will had developed a crush on Troy, that’s what he kept telling himself anyway since they were roommates and Troy and was funny and cute and nice to talk to. It was only a matter of time until he’d develop these feelings, he told himself, and it was only a matter of time before they went away.

Still, this was testing him. Troy gets clingy and affectionate when he’s tired, so Will wouldn’t expect anything less of sick Troy. If Will could hardly handle Troy at one AM telling Will about his classes that next day, talking to Will with big eyes and grand gestures, but voice heavy with sleep, Will wasn’t sure he could handle sick Troy. He kept wanting to tuck Troy’s hair gently behind his ear and kiss his cheek, and he had to keep reeling himself in.

_God, pull yourself together Byers._ he thought angrily.

Will had gone a good ten minutes without saying anything now, so he assumed he was in the clear. He leaned over to make sure Troy was asleep, and once he was sure of that, he tried to wiggle out from underneath him.

The first time he tried, Troy held him tight and Will couldn’t break free without waking Troy up. It was a special kind of magic that allowed them to be in that position together in the first place, so Will was a little worried about what would happen when the spell was broken. It’d be awkward, that’s for sure.

So Will waited about ten more minutes, trying to think about anything other than how soft Troy’s hair was.

After a little more time, Will was able to pull himself out of Troy’s hold, and although the attempt was clumsy and miscalculated, Will was able to get off of Troy’s bed without waking him up.

(He fell onto his ass, but it’s okay because he was successful anyway.)

Will glanced back at Troy one last time as he walked off, tilting over a bit to see his face.

_Still asleep,_ Will confirmed, _good._

Will went about his routine the rest of the night, doing his homework, ordering a pizza, rereading parts of his biology textbook for his test tomorrow. He let Troy sleep, making sure he kept quiet and avoided messing with Troy’s bed too much.

Really, it was just like every night except quieter than usual.

At some point, despite Will’s best efforts, Troy woke up about an hour later, but Will didn’t even notice he was awake until he asked a question to himself and heard Troy mumble an answer.

“Alright,” he muttered to himself as he went about studying for his biology test, “who’s ready for bioenergetics?”

Troy made a displeased noise and shifted.

“No,” he groaned quietly, burying his face in the pillow.

Will jumped, drawing a straight line across the scratch paper he had been using for review.

“Hey,” he startled, turned around to face Troy, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you up,”

Troy just groaned again and pulled the blanket over his head.

“I was trying my best to be quiet, but I guess I wasn’t doing a very good job-”

“It wasn’t you,” Troy mumbled, pulling down the blanket just enough for his eyes to show, “I just woke up… for sick reasons,”

“Oh,” Will stood, walking delicately over to Troy, “how are you feeling?”

Troy muttered something inaudibly and turned away from Will.

“Do you need anything?” Will tried again. Still, no answer. Will reached over and pressed the back of his hand on Troy’s forehead, pulling it back immediately due to the temperature.

“Yikes, you’re really hot,”

“Thank you,” Troy mumbled into the pillow halfheartedly.

“Sure, that you respond to,”

Troy went silent again.

Will looked around, tapping his foot. That itch of needing to help someone arose again and Will fidgeted by Troy’s bed.

“Do you want tea or something? Water?”

“Tea would be-” Troy paused to cough into his arm loudly and violently, “tea would be nice, probably.” The scratch in his voice hit a chord of pity in Will’s heart.

“Yeah, okay, I can do that,” Will smiled, and walked over to the stove, turning on a burner.

He grabbed a kettle from the cupboard and filled it with water, then set it on the stovetop to heat up. While he waited, he tilted his head sideways and watched Troy, who seemed to be asleep again. He was pretty like this- quiet, relaxed.

“Stop staring at me,”

Oh, well he wasn’t apparently.

“I was just trying to figure out if you were asleep,” he dismissed, blushing against his will and turning away from Troy.

“Uh-huh, sure,” Troy countered, and Will shouldn’t have been surprised that even in Troy’s sick state he still found the energy to be sarcastic.

They went quiet once more as the water boiled, and the only thing that broke the silence was the whistle of the kettle once the water was hot enough. Will took it off of the stove with practiced ease and poured it into the waiting mug on top of the teabag. It was green tea, the nicest he could reasonably afford, and he added honey to it to make it extra soothing.

(Well, it wasn’t really honey. Troy had bought it, and it was something called “honey syrup”, so they’d see how it went.)

“You still awake over there?” Will asked, bringing the cup over to Troy’s bedside.

“ _Yes_ ,” Troy stated defiantly, but he made no move to sit up or show that he awake besides an angry grumble.

“Okay, well I made you tea, and I put honey in it,” Will explained, setting the mug on the nightstand. “It should help with that nasty cough you’ve got going on.”

Troy sat up a little, just enough to be able to reach the mug, and took a sip. His eyes were cloudy and his face was pale, and there was a thin sheen of sweat on his forehead. He looked miserable. He brightened a little though when he drank the tea and smiled thankfully at Will.

The genuine kindness and appreciation in his expression made Will’s stomach flip, and he felt blood rush to his cheeks and the tips of his ears.

“Thank you,” Troy told Will genuinely, he sounded like gravel and sandpaper, “I really do appreciate all you’re doing for me.”

Will felt his blush get worse, and he looked away.

“Yeah,” he excused, waving Troy off with his hand, “don’t mention it.” Troy just kept smiling at him.

As Will continued studying (and as he made a cup of tea for himself), Troy only stayed up for about ten more minutes before he was out like a light again. It was a relief to see him sleeping so soundly, Will hoped he’d feel better when he woke up. Sleeping was always good when you were sick, and honestly, Will was content to just do his work quietly and only occasionally and privately watch and admire Troy as he slept.

(Sometimes he made expressions in his sleep and Will felt his heart speed up with affection.)

Will was rolling along on some history work when he noticed the time, it was already one in the morning. He thought he should probably be getting to sleep soon if he wanted to actually be able to pay attention to his biology test. All the studying wouldn’t do any good if he couldn’t see straight because he was exhausted.

Will stretched as he yawned, sticking his arms straight up in the air and arching his back. He packed up his work methodically and skimmed over his notes one more time before he stuck them carefully into his bag.

He walked back into the kitchen, washing his mug and dumping the rest of the water from the kettle. He cleaned a few more things and then walked back over to his bed, but stopped in front of Troy. He tilted his head and blinked at Troy, tiptoeing a little closer and stopping right next to him.

Will let his impulses take over, just this once.

He reached over, cautiously, carefully, and cupped Troy’s cheek in his hand. His thumb was on Troy’s cheekbone, and he began to tenderly brush Troy’s cheek. Then, still incredibly careful, Will brought his other hand up and brushed back stray curls from Troy’s face, just like he had imagined doing.

In the intense silence of the dorm room, Will stood there, just holding Troy’s face gently, trying not to think about how stupid this was or how it made his feelings for Troy worse.

Troy’s skin was hot with fever, and there was a slight flush in his cheeks. It was good that he was getting some color back, Will thought and ran a thumb over his cheek again softly. Maybe his fever was going to break soon. Will hoped in the back of his mind that Troy got better quickly, the flu seemed to beat everyone who got it over the head and he hoped Troy didn’t get it as bad as some of his classmates did.

Troy exhaled shakily, shifting around in his sleep and unintentionally nudging his head further into Will’s palm. Will’s hand stilled on Troy’s forehead, paused where he was tracing Troy’s hairline gently. He looked down at Troy, tilting his head.

He looked sweeter like this, more relaxed, and even though Will could see the effects of sickness on his face, Will still found himself admiring a lot of things about Troy. Especially now, when Will was up close and all of Troy’s edges were rounded out.

He poked Troy again, just to make sure he was asleep. Troy didn’t stir, just kept sleeping peacefully, curled into his pillow.

Will looked around the room as if someone would jump out from behind a shelf or El would shout “gotcha” and leap from the bathroom.

He ran his hand down Troy’s face softly, rubbing his thumb into his cheek, and leaned down to kiss his forehead.

Troy’s breath hitched, and Will leaped away, terrified that Troy was awake and had been the whole time, through the petting and forehead kiss and all. But as Will sat on his bed and quickly threw himself into a textbook to look busy, he figured it was just a standard shaky inhale of the sick, and brushed it aside.

He didn’t bug Troy the rest of the night (meaning the ten more minutes he was awake), besides adjusting his blankets occasionally and making sure he was breathing during a quiet spell, but his face remained hot and flushed. Will eventually fell asleep, there was a slight pressure in his head, and he figured he’d be getting sick pretty soon too. He took an aspirin and some orange juice, and kept a cup of water by his nightstand, preparing a little better than Troy had.

He got under his blankets, pulling them up to his chin, and stared up at the ceiling. He ran a finger over his lips, tracing them idly. Will thought about kissing Troy’s forehead, about what could possibly motivate him to do that.

(He knew what motivated him, but Will didn’t want to think about that right now.)

(Maybe he did.)

He rolled over to face Troy, watching his chest rise and fall gently with each breath. He flushed again, ears and cheeks hot. He closed his eyes forcefully, scrunching his face into the pillow, but he could still the outline of Troy in his mind’s eye. Will allowed himself to imagine kissing Troy again as he fell asleep, and his head felt too heavy to get too mad at himself for it. He heard Troy stir again as he finally nodded off, and he slipped into the last stages of sleep he thought about how much he’d like it if Troy came over and kissed his forehead. Will didn’t have long to think about that before he fell asleep. 

* * *

Troy sits up once he’s sure Will’s asleep, trying to limit his wheezing, he looks over at Will. He reaches his hand up and touches the spot on his forehead where Will kissed him delicately like if he moved too quickly he’d lose the memory of it. He felt himself blush brightly, heart beating fast in his chest. He traces his fingers over his forehead like he can still feel Will’s lips there. He grins to himself in the darkness, and throws himself back down on his bed, hugging the blankets in on himself and smiling into his pillow.

**Author's Note:**

> aaaa? how was it??? I write everything in chunks now so I literally have no idea, and I'm notoriously doubtful in my writing abilities.  
> I'm sorry for taking such a long writing break, my mental health went to shit and I have 0 motivation and 0 free time on top of that so like, things are rough. But I got this out~ so yay  
> Did I put a Pet Semetary reference in here because I love Rachel Creed despite it being the wrong decade? Yes. Did I also put in a Westworld reference despite it still being the wrong time period? Also yes.  
> My tumblr is bugrundy, feel free to drop by and look at my account or leave an ask. I post a lot about Will/Troy bc these morons are all I think about. Also you should message me if you like this ship because I'll yell about it to anyone who listen.  
> Okay well that's all from me, I hope you liked it! Comments and kudos make me so happy and I adore each and every one of them.  
> Thank you for reading!!


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